Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Matisyahu (born Matthew Paul Miller, June 30, 1979) is an American reggae musician.

Known for blending traditional Jewish themes with reggae, rock and hip hop sounds, Matisyahu is most recognizable for being an orthodox Jew.

Since his debut, Matisyahu has received positive reviews from both rock and reggae outlets. Most recently, he was named Top Reggae Artist of 2006 by Billboard as well as being named a spokesperson for Kenneth Cole.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Dennis Emanuel Brown (February 1, 1957–July 1, 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. He recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the pioneers of lovers rock. Bob Marley dubbed him the “Crown Prince of Reggae”.

Friday, June 26, 2009

He was nominated best vocalist five times in his own country, an indication of the love Jamaicans have for his voice and music. There are many reasons as to why he commands the respect of his countrymen, one is his ability to perform both roots Reggae material and love songs with equal ability and conviction. This dual persona, both as roots ‘preacher’ and love ‘crooner’, was one which out of financial necessity many other performers were required to adopt.

Black Uhuru, formed by Derrick "Duckie" Simpson, is a Jamaican reggae band probably best known for their hits "Shine Eye Gal", "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", "Sinsemilla", "Solidarity", and Grammy winner "What Is Life?". They were the first group to win a Grammy in the reggae category when it was introduced in 1985. They originally formed as "Black Sounds Uhuru". Uhuru is the Swahili word for freedom. The group was named by Stan "Roy Scientist" Palmer.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Sly and Robbie are one of reggae's most prolific and long lasting production teams. The rhythm section of drummer Lowell Dunbar (nicknamed Sly after Sly Stone, one of his favorite musicians) and bass guitarist Robert Shakespeare started working together in the mid 1970s, after having established themselves separately on the Jamaican music scene. They are humorously also sometimes referred to as Sly Drumbar and Robbie Basspeare, one example being the sleeve notes of Black Uhuru's Red album.

Singing "slack" songs about women was the popular thing to do. Anthony B did not believe in degrading women and chose to pen politically-slanted songs instead.

Anthony B is a member of the Bobo Ashanti branch of the Rastafarian movement. "Bobo Dreads", as they are known, are recognizable by their long robes and turbans. The strong Afrocentric pride and the other Rastafarian beliefs (or "overstandings" as Rastafarians prefer to call them) which Anthony B holds are reflected in his songs.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Skaoriginated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues.

In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with British mods. Later it became popular with many skinheads, Music historians typically divide the history of ska into three periods:

The original Jamaican scene of the 1960s (First Wave),

The English 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s (Second Wave) . I lived in Coventry then so was caught up in it

The third wave ska movement, which started in the 1980s (Third Wave). I've included ska punk here

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry, on March 20, 1936, in Kendal, Jamaica) is a reggae and dub artist, who has been highly influential in the development and acceptance of reggae and dub music in Jamaica and overseas. He employs numerous pseudonyms, such as Pipecock Jaxxon and The Upsetter.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Island Records really introduced myself and the UK to Reggae. Island Records was a record label that was founded by British record producers in Jamaica. It was based in England for many years, but is now owned by Universal Music Group and is operated in the United States through The Island Def Jam Music Group and in the UK through Island Records Group.

Island Records was founded in Jamaica in 1959 by Chris Blackwell and Graeme Goodall, taking its name from the 1955 Alec Waugh novel, subsequent film and Harry Belafonte hit song 'Island in the Sun'.The company relocated to the UK in May 1962. Until Blackwell sold the label to PolyGram in 1989, Island was the largest indie record label in history. If you look at their discography here you'll see it contains many of the household names.

Burning Spear advocates messages of honesty, peace, and love, which tie in with his social and religious messages of Rastafari and black unity. Along with his musical message, the Spear continues to tour all over the world. His concerts often last 2 hours long with several bongo drum solos by Burning Spear himself.

While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by accents on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is normally slower than ska. Reggae usually accents the second and fourth beat in each bar.

Reggae song lyrics deal with many subjects, including religion, love, sexuality, peace, relationships, poverty, injustice and other social and political issues.

Damian "Junior Gong" Marley was born on July 21, 1978. He is a reggae artist, a humanitarian, and the youngest son of the late reggae legend Bob Marley. He has won three Grammy awards.

With regards to his album Welcome to Jamrock, a reviewer had this to say;

The youngest son of the one and only Bob Marley, Damian (Jr. Gong) Marley takes his nickname from his dad's "Tuff Gong" moniker, and has been strutting his talented genes since he was 13 years old. This is his third album, after Mr. Marley (1996) and the Grammy award winning "Halfway Tree" (2001).

The first single "Welcome to Jamrock" stormed the charts on release, with its blaring air horn and Ine Kamoze sample, causing much controversy in his homeland of Jamaica with its hard hitting, critical lyrics about poverty and politics:

"Come on let's face it, a ghetto education's basic A most a the youths them waste it And when they waste it, that's when they take the guns and replace it Then them don't stand a chance at all"

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Satta Massagana is a roots reggae album released by The Abyssinians officially in 1976. It is widely considered The Abyssinians crowning achievement and a classic roots reggae album.

The title track "Satta Massagana" was a huge hit and has been versioned numerous times by both The Abyssinians and other artists since. It has even been adopted by some Rastafarian groups as a hymn used during services. The song, which translates from the Amharic language as "Give Thanks", was originally recorded for Studio One in 1969, but the label's owner, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd declined to release it.

"LOVERS ROCK" is a style of Reggae noted for its romantic sound and content. To name only a few: Ken Boothe, Johnny Nash and John Holt. (Will give a history of each at a later date.) Now is the time to DANCE and WHINE your waist.

While Bob Marley preached "ONE LOVE" Peter Tosh often had a militant approch to his music and his life. But many were attracted to both because of their confrontational subjects and Optimistic views of a future free of "OPRESSION". In Line with Both the album and the movie (Catch a Fire ) Listen to EQUAL RIGHTS-DOWN PRESSOR MAN

Catch a Fire 2006About Africans in Apartheid era South Africa. Based on the true story of Patrick Chamusso. Filmed in South africa. The Soundtrack is based on the Music of Bob Marley and some of the songs from his hit album "Catch a Fire" I enjoyed this movie and it brought up a whole set of emontions which is another story. Here is is all bout "MUSIC"

Hi its Mocha Here. Me Nuh Dead Yet. "Respect" "Respect"Both Marley and Tosh have been represented on this blog already but what I have to add is all based on a movie I just watched again "Catch A fire" 2006. The title was taken from Bob Marley and the Wailer's debut album "Catch a Fire" 1973 This Album established the band as International Superstars and Bob Marley as World Famous.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Dread Zeppelin is an American band best known for covering the songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style sung by an Elvis Presley impersonator named Tortelvis (Greg Tortell), though their act now encompasses many other songs and other styles of music. Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant has said that Dread Zeppelin is his favorite Led Zeppelin cover band.

Steel Pulse were one of Britain's greatest reggae bands, rivaled only by Aswad in terms of creative and commercial success. Generally a protest-minded Rastafarian outfit, Steel Pulse started out playing authentic roots reggae with touches of jazz and Latin music, and earned a substantial audience among white U.K. punks as well. Their 1978 debut, Handsworth Revolution, is still regarded by many critics as a landmark and a high point of British reggae. As the '80s wore on, slick synthesizers and elements of dance and urban R&B gradually crept into their sound, even as their subject matter stayed on the militant side. By the late '80s, Steel Pulse had won a Grammy and were working full-fledged crossover territory, but never reached the same degree of commercial acceptance as Aswad or Inner Circle. They subsequently returned to a tough-minded, rootsy sound that nonetheless made concessions to contemporary trends with touches of dancehall and hip-hop.